Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute

Actors' Museum

Our exhibition venue: the Gizi Bajor Actors’ Museum

The Gizi Bajor Actors’ Museum was initiated by actress Hilda Gobbi in 1952. The permanent exhibition titled ‘A beautiful house in the middle of a big park’ immortalizes the figure of actress Gizi Bajor, the initial owner of the villa and Hilda Gobbi, the founder of the museum. Next to the personal belongings and stage props of Gizi Bajor, drawings, paintings, models are displayed. The walls are covered with dozens of photos, just the way Hilda Gobbi had set up her exhibitions in those initial years of the museum. The ground floor of the museum hosts temporary exhibits of different important phenomena and events of the Hungarian theatre history or presents the artistic portraits of leading theatre figures. The permanent exhibition, titled ‘Between the coulisses’ leads the visitor through the highlights of Hungarian theatre history, by presenting the process of theatre creation. In the first room, dedicated to the Hungarian operetta, photos and objects evoke the memory of notable operetta actors, among the furniture which used to belong to Jenő Huszka, the famous operetta composer. The following room evokes a theatre manager’s office: this is where the fate of the new plays is sealed, the program of a theatre season is drafted and roles are cast. This is the room where the National Theatre, opened in 1937, is commemorated, with the furniture of the bygone theatre, the building decorations and house number plate. The next room presents the rehearsals. The long table – with numerous photos under its glass cover – evokes the readthroughs, while the small stage refers to the blocking and memory rehearsals. In the fourth room we reach the theatre evening, the first night, the performance. In the photos, actresses are putting up makeup, are dressing and receiving flowers from the fans. A significant part of the room is taken by the reconstruction of the royal box of the National Theatre, furnished with the original furniture. The final part of the exhibition presents the life of the actors after the performance. The permanent exhibition of the Theatre Collection is also located on the upper floor of the Museum. The Gizi Bajor Actor’ Museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 2-6 p.m.